I also obtain weekly uptime data from Mon.itor.us, which compares uptime and latency of the site you specify with that of Google.com (by default). I was surprised to see Windows Azure beat Google’s uptime for the week of 1/3 to 1/9/2010:

The average response time of my demo app, which includes 128 milliseconds for obtaining and loading a page of Windows Azure Table data, is almost as fast as Google’s home page. In fact, deducting the time for data operations, results in an average response time of 307.23 ms, which is about 10% better than Google’s for the period.

The Sample project runs on one Web Role instance in Microsoft’s South Central US (San Antonio, TX) data center, so it’s not subject to Microsoft’s 99.9% availability Service Level Agreement (SLA), which requires two running instances. Here’s the sample project’s single page:

The dual Web role application has been running in Microsoft's South Central US (San Antonio) data center since September 2009. I believe it is the oldest continuously running Windows Azure application.

About Me

I'm a Windows Azure Insider, a retired Windows Azure MVP, the principal developer for OakLeaf Systems and the author of 30+ books on Microsoft software. The books have more than 1.25 million English copies in print and have been translated into 20+ languages.

Full disclosure: I make part of my livelihood by writing about Microsoft products in books and for magazines. I regularly receive free evaluation software from Microsoft and press credentials for Microsoft Tech•Ed and PDC. I'm also a member of the Microsoft Partner Network.